“Live commerce” is aimed at drawing advertisers and increasing revenues in the second half of the year, when major events such as the FIFA World Cup take place

08/28/2022

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Fiamma Zarife — Foto: Silvia Zamboni/Valor

Twitter, one of the most popular social media among Brazilians, began testing the live-stream shopping model in the country. The so-called “live commerce” is one pillar to attract advertisers and increase revenue in this second half of the year, when major events such as the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Black Friday, and year-end holidays take place.

“We are sharing a lot with brands the increase in conversations about the World Cup on the platform because it will definitely be one of the biggest events within Twitter this year,” Fiamma Zarife, Twitter’s country manager for Brazil, told Valor.

Twitter launched live-streamed product sales last year in the United States. “We had a simultaneous audience of 2 million people in a Walmart live commerce,” the executive said.

Although Twitter is not a short video-centric platform like TikTok, Kwai, and Instagram, Ms. Zarife says that video content generates conversations on the platform and accounts for 50% of the audience, currently. “We have a symbiotic relationship with TV in content like reality shows, soap operas, and soccer, which are passions of Brazilians,” she said.

But she also considers that the economic situation is complex. “Today we have a difficult macroeconomic scenario for the whole world, not only in Brazil, which leads companies to be more cautious and assertive with marketing investments,” she said. “We know that media investment is a reflection of the economy, but we take a very positive look at how Twitter can join these major events with an influential audience, which is much more opinionated.” In the political field, in particular, Twitter is considered an important social media and is used by politicians and their followers.

This year’s Brazilian elections, with the first round of voting scheduled for October 2, are stirring up the social networks. But it is during the soccer World Cup and Black Friday that Twitter and its competitors see more opportunities to make money with video advertising, live sales, and content produced by influencers.

Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, had the largest share (26%) among digital networks in advertising investments between January and the end of July, according to Nielsen, followed by Google’s YouTube, with 22%.

Meta’s strategy to draw advertisers – the company says there are 200 million worldwide – is to turn advertising into a natural part of users’ navigation. “We combine our business solutions with the way people use our products naturally. That’s why we have invested in so many ways to create a personalized, seamless user journey from the moment people meet a brand to the moment they buy a product,” said Conrado Leister, Meta’s managing head for Brazil.

Video ads, especially long-form ads, are a major bet. “Video is a big part of why people like our apps — there are a lot of opportunities tied to this format on our platforms,” says Mr. Leister.

Globally, more than 2 billion people watch ad-eligible videos each month on Meta’s platforms, and 70% of video ad views on Facebook ads are seen in full.

Meta’s managing head in Brazil says that “short videos are a success. But long videos generate greater audience adherence to ads on the company’s networks.”

Videos also guarantee longer permanence of users in social networks and, consequently, greater exposure to advertising.

“With the increase in consumer dwell time on social media and more information collected about their interests, social media becomes a good channel to generate both brand creation and short-term sales,” said Sabrina Balhes, Nielsen’s measurement leader in Brazil.

Kwai, a social video network known as Kuaishou in China, saw a 200% jump in the dwell time of Brazilian users on the platform last year. Currently, more than 45.4 million monthly active Brazilian users of Kwai spend on average 60 minutes a day on the platform.

Soccer is one key topic among the platform’s content to draw audiences and advertisers. In September last year, Kwai signed a two-year sponsorship deal with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), which provides exclusivity in the production of short videos for the platform on the official profiles of the men’s and women’s national teams, including backstage and training sessions.

For the World Cup, the company has begun to plan special content and filters. “We will make a strong correlation with content about the event,” said Mariana Sensini, Kwai’s country managing director in Brazil. “Our research shows that users want entertainment.”

The social-media website also seeks to foster content created by social media influencers. Between March 2021 and April this year, Kwai invested R$250 million to pay 20,000 content partners in Brazil.

On Black Friday, Kwai bets on live-streamed sales. This model was launched in October in Brazil with retailer Casas Bahia.

This year, advertisers are likely to combine campaigns for the World Cup, Black Friday, and year-end holidays, said Ms. Balhes, with Nielsen. The idea is that “instead of creating a specific advertising campaign for each event, advertisers will work with umbrella campaigns that encompass the year-end sales,” she said.

Consumer confidence in social media is a key point for advertisers to direct their campaigns to this audience. According to a Nielsen study conducted in September 2021, 64% of Brazilians say they trust ads on social media. In another survey, from June, 39% said they have already bought some products promoted by social media influencers.

For the social media Pinterest, the World Cup brings the opportunity to capture the desires of Brazilians who seek decoration, fashion, and style references around the event. “With a lot of competition among social media for soccer, we decided to act on the cultural side of the World Cup,” said André Loureiro, Pinterest’s managing director for Latin America.

The social-media website is also preparing the launch of a public data tool about the behavior of its users, like Google Trends, which should go live before Black Friday, providing more elements for advertising campaigns on the platform.

“Combining the seasonality of Black Friday with the World Cup, at the same moment of the year, we have a great expectation of return in the fourth quarter,” Mr. Loureiro said.

*By Daniela Braun — São Paulo

Source: Valor International

https://valorinternational.globo.com/